2024 Congress of Delegates Adopts Three Washington Resolutions

PHOENIX — The 2024 AAFP Congress of Delegates has adopted three resolutions from WAFP while declining to adopt a fourth resolution.

Three resolutions were considered by topic-based reference committees.

• Resolution 201 (Increasing Harm Reduction Education and Resources) was modified by the Reference Committee on Organization, Finance, and Education. The revised version commits AAFP to supporting harm reduction as a component of competency-based curricula taught by medical schools. It further direct AAFP to provide increased CME on harm reduction as a component of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders.
• Resolution 402 (AAFP Supports Use of Local Analgesia for Intrauterine Device Placement and Need for Further Teaching of and Research into Pain Management of Office-Based Gynecologic Procedures) was adopted as-is based on the recommendation of the Reference Committee on Health of the Public and Science. The reference committee noted the substantial testimony in favor of the resolution and further found the asks of the resolution to be aligned with the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use.
• Resolution 505 (Advancing Access to Health Savings Accounts for All Americans) received a “not adopt” recommendation from the Reference Committee on Advocacy. The reference committee noted it heard mixed testimony; proponents lauded HSAs for helping participants afford higher-cost medical expenses. Opponents felt that HSAs primarily benefit high-income individuals and exacerbate health inequities.

For those three resolutions, the Congress agreed with the reference committee recommendations.

Washington’s final resolution, R404 (Providing Unbiased, Evidence-Based, Transparent, and Private Pregnancy Services), was originally revised by the Reference Committee on Health of the Public and Science, which it felt clarified the intent of the resolution. Following the processes of the Congress of Delegates, the resolution was extracted for further discussion.

One of the two reference committees handling extracted resolutions heard further testimony on the revised version. Taking this information into account, it proposed further revisions, that AAFP: will update its policy statement on reproductive health to state that any entity providing crisis pregnancy services should provide truthful and transparent communications about which services are offered and which services it will refer out; advocate for oversight of all entities providing crisis pregnancy-related services or counseling; advocate that any services are provided by licensed health care providers and are HIPAA-compliant; and support public funding for entities which provide “complete, non-directive, medically accurate health information to support patients’ informed and voluntary decisions.

A second resolved clause in that resolution commits AAFP to opposing the use of taxpayer dollars to fund entities that do not align with current AAFP policy.